Three thousand fans warm up the paddock on the Historic Minardi Day
With the Historic Minardi Day, on stage at the “Dino and Enzo Ferrari Circuit”, Gian Carlo Minardi donated a 30 years long time-travel to more than three thousand fans, letting them feeling the tastes and the sounds of V8 and V12 used in the 80s, 90s and 2000.
Three thousand fans have crowded the paddock and pits of the Santerno’s circuit to embrace Formula 1 again, ten years after the last f1 Grand Prix to see more than 50 Formula 1 single-seaters, Grand Tourism, Formula 2, Formula 3, and F3000 cars closely. A collection of over 70 cars with the chance to meet the Team Principal Gian Carlo Minardi and the drivers who took part in the stable from Faenza.
From the Argentinian driver Miguel Angel Guerra, the first driver who has raced under the colors of the Minardi Team in Formula 2 up to the Italian Paolo Barilla, Giancarlo Fisichella, Giovanni Lavaggi, Pier Luigi Martini, Gianni Morbidelli, Alessandro Nannini, Jarno Trulli. The Brazilian Tarso Marques, the Spaniards Adrian Campos and Sala Luis Perez and the Portuguese Pedro Lamy, along with engineers Gabriele Tredozi and Aldo Costa willing to sign autographs and photos, and to go onto track with the Minardi cars brought by collectors.
A lot of emotions for almost five thousand aficionados in the central grandstand who watched the single-seaters from the Scuderia from Fanza hurtling along with cars from Ferrari, williams , Tecno, March-BMW Schitzer, Chevron-Toyota, and many others. A lot of emotions in the pits where fans had the chance to closely watch mechanics at works on the single seaters, the ignition of engines and the entrance into the pit-lane , but also the exhibition “From Minardi to Toro Rosso”. More than 30 cars lined up for a “walk” into the Motorsport world “made in Faenza” : from the first Formula 2 cars built by Gian Carlo Minardi up to the M185, the first Minardi F1 that debuted in 1985, April, 5th in Brazil, up to the Minardi PS05 and the STR 10.
Gian Carlo Minardi: “I am satisfied and touched. A day devoted to sport and to fans where I had the pleasure to see again many drivers who have wrote, with me, important pages of the Minardi Team history. The strong feedback of the audience with a great participation both in grandstand and in the paddock is the most beautiful side. I was glad to see the paddock animated by many young people. I got moved when, along with all the drivers, I greeted the people in the central grandstand. The Hystoric Minardi Day has been the occasion to retrace 30 years of passion, making a time travel, also with technic. It is surely an experience to repeat. I must thank everybody for their warm welcome”.
Pier Giovanni Ricci (General Manager of the Circuit): “A wonderful day made up by emotions that appear strongly when we talk about Formula 1 in Imola. The duo Circuit-Minardi was the trump card of this event. They are both symbols of two close lands that were able to express these two peaks. A come back to a recent past in which Gian Carlo Minardi’s stable as got a prestigious place in F1 history with “his” drivers that were present at this great party. I want to thank the so many fans that did not miss this event and challenged such a scorching temperature: probably the passion was even more fiery”.
